'Penetration' weapon Enhancement

[mikebr99]

Hey All...

Thoughts on...

Penetration
For a +1 enhancement, you get a 10% reduction on an opponents Fortification level, and a 10% chance to actually critical (assuming you meet all the regular critical prereq.s) on a creature that is normally immune to Criticals. You can take this enchantment multiple times, and the percentages stack.
Caster level 8th; Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armour; Market Price: +1 bonus.

 

[Spatzimaus]

I don't like the anti-Fortification part, just because it counters an existing enhancement. If the opponent doesn't have Fortification this part is useless.

As for the immune to criticals part, that's because those creatures simply have no critical parts. You can't hit something vital if there's nothing to hit. It's a general benefit of those types, and is compensated for by their lower hit points. It doesn't make sense for an Ooze to take a vorpal hit, after all. Giving the possibility to have a critical hit just doesn't make sense for these types.

The question is, why do you want to crit an undead? Multiplied base damage? Get Bane or Holy. Some critical-only weapon ability (burst, Vorpal, etc.)? Handle it on a more case-by-case basis; on the elemental ones you could say that it's still a critical roll (igniting the Burst ability) even though the base damage isn't multiplied. Maybe make a +1 weapon ability that gives that ability and increases the damage die by one size.

 

[Navar]

Well it sounds like a pornographic DnD weapon enhancement to me. I have heard a roumor that something like this is going to appear in the book of vile darkness so you may want to get your hopes up.

 

[mikebr99]

ok... I'm going to revise it to:

Penetration
For a +1 enhancement, you get a 20% reduction on an opponents Fortification level. You can take this enchantment multiple times, and the percentages stack.
Caster level 6th; Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armour; Market Price: +1 bonus.

 

[Jeph]

Personally, I think that the anti fortification side is just plain useless, and the crit-to-uncritabgles just doesn't make sense. I don't know anyone that would take it, and wouldn't use it IMC. I imagined the enchantment would be something like this . . .

Penetration
This enchantment may only be placed on Piercing weapons. Weapons enchanted in this fashion ignore 3 (minor), 5 (medium), or 7 (major) points of Natural Armor or Armor bonus to AC on their targets.
Caster level 6th (minor), 8th (medium), or 10th (major); Prerequisites Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Magic Weapon or Greater Magic Weapon; Market Price +1 bonus (minor), +2 bonus (medium), or +3 bonus (major).

 

[Crothian]

Penetration
For a +1 enhancement, you get a 10% reduction on an opponents Fortification level, and a 10% chance to actually critical (assuming you meet all the regular critical prereq.s) on a creature that is normally immune to Criticals. You can take this enchantment multiple times, and the percentages stack.
Caster level 8th; Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armour; Market Price: +1 bonus.

I like this version. The ability to crit the uncritible is great. For an explantion, I like the It's Magic one.

 

[hong]

Personally, I think that the anti fortification side is just plain useless, and the crit-to-uncritabgles just doesn't make sense. I don't know anyone that would take it, and wouldn't use it IMC. I imagined the enchantment would be something like this . . .

Penetration
This enchantment may only be placed on Piercing weapons. Weapons enchanted in this fashion ignore 3 (minor), 5 (medium), or 7 (major) points of Natural Armor or Armor bonus to AC on their targets.
Caster level 6th (minor), 8th (medium), or 10th (major); Prerequisites Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Magic Weapon or Greater Magic Weapon; Market Price +1 bonus (minor), +2 bonus (medium), or +3 bonus (major).

Question. Take a major penetrating, brilliant energy weapon against someone with full plate +5 and a natural armour amulet +5 (AC 28). Would the effective AC of the target be

15 (penetrating takes 7 off armour, brilliant energy takes off the rest)

10 (brilliant energy takes 13 off armour, penetrating takes 5 off nat. armour)

10 (penetrating takes 5 off natural armour, 2 off armour, and brilliant takes 11 off armour)

10 (penetrating takes 5 off natural armour, 7 off armour, and brilliant takes 4 off armour)

... or something else? Questions like these are why I changed my version of penetrating (http://www.zipworld.com.au/~hong/dnd/newenchantments.htm) to be explicit in what it does.

 

[mikebr99]

Personally, I think that the anti fortification side is just plain useless... <snip>

And it might be in your game(s). But one of ours involves a high level Wizard Baddie who insists that all of his guards have some sort of fortification on their armour... and it is really screwing the Rogue.

I didn't put this out there for your benefit... I just wanted constructive criticism etc. to see if what some of my group had proposed seemed to be balanced, cost wise.

But thanks Jeph... for all your help!

 

[mikebr99]

Questions like these are why I changed my version of penetrating (http://www.zipworld.com.au/~hong/dnd/newenchantments.htm) to be explicit in what it does.

Thanks hong.
I'll keep this in mind.

 

[mikebr99]

Re: Re: 'Penetration' weapon Enhancement

I like this version. The ability to crit the uncritible is great. For an explantion, I like the It's Magic one.

Thanks Crothian. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.